1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to absorbent articles such as diapers for infants and adults, and sanitary articles, as well as a manufacturing method therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 3-82467, a conventional absorbent article is composed of a liquid permeable top sheet, a liquid impermeable back, and an absorbent member. The absorbent member is disposed between the liquid permeable top sheet and the liquid impermeable back sheet. The top sheet and the back sheet are heat-bonded. In addition, to prevent body exudates from leaking out, a pair of elastic leg gathers are disposed along the peripheries of the leg holes.
The leakage protective effectiveness of disposable diapers depends, in large part, on the fit between the leg holes and the legs of the wearer. Thus, as the fit improves, the probability of leakage decreases. Consequently, as the elastic force of the gathers disposed along the leg holes or leg gathers increases, the degree of leakage decreases. However, when the elastic force is too large, the leg gathers become too tight around the legs of the wearer. Therefore, when the wearer wears the absorbent article for a long time, the wearer not only feels pain, but also may suffer skin inflammation.
These and other disadvantages of the prior art are sought to be overcome by the absorbent garment of the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article which has excellent leakage protection while the legs of the wearer are free of excessive pressure from the leg elastics.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing the above-described absorbent article.
The present invention is directed to an absorbent article comprising a main body having a front waist portion, a rear waist portion, a waist hole, and a pair of leg holes disposed between the front waist portion and the rear waist portion, and an elastic leakage protective member corresponding to each leg hole of the main body. The elastic leakage protective member interconnects both the front and rear edge portions so that at least part of the leg holes are closed.
In an alternative embodiment, the leakage protective members interconnect the front and rear side edge portions of the main body, and further include a top edge portion which extends across the front waist portion and the rear waist portion of the main body to form an annularly continuous top edge portion.
In yet another embodiment, the leakage protective members are attached to each respective side edge portion of the front and rear waist portions over substantially the entire length thereof. In such an embodiment, the leakage protective members further include leg hole openings.
As with conventional absorbent articles, the main body includes a liquid impermeable outer sheet, a liquid permeable inner sheet, and an absorbent member disposed therebetween. The front waist portion and a rear waist portion may be integrally formed with one another. Alternatively, the front waist portion and the rear waist portion may be separately prepared and then joined. The rear waist portion and the front waist portion are connected at the crotch portions thereof.
In this specification, the term xe2x80x9cleakage protective memberxe2x80x9d will be understood to include sheet members which are disposed on both sides of the above-described main body and has an elastic sheet forming at least part of the periphery of a leg hole and prevents body exudate from leaking. The elastic leakage protective member may have a variety of forms, such as a standing cuff disposed at each side of the main body or a pocket for holding body exudate.
Experimental results show that due to the elasticity of the elastic leakage protective member, the elastic leakage protective member satisfactorily contains exudates when it closes more than ⅔ of the opening of the leg hole.
The elastic leakage protective member may have a slit which has a predetermined length and which extends from a portion which constitutes part of the periphery of the leg hole. The slit allows the elastic leakage protective member to have a large opening. Urine and excrement are sealed by the elastic leakage protective member which is disposed at a lower crotch portion and follows the motion of the wearer. The elastic leakage protective member is preferably secured to the crotch portion of the main body.
An absorbent article of this type may be manufactured by forming a first series of front waist portions and second series of rear waist portions along an assembly line. Each series of waist portions is formed from continuous strips of top sheet material and back sheet material, with absorbent members deposited between the sheets at predetermined intervals. The elastic leakage protective member or members may be deposited on one of the waist portions either by laying the material on the waist portions in continuous strips or by pre-forming assemblies which are deposited on the waist portions at predetermined intervals. Once the elastic leakage protective members are placed on one waist portion, the other waist portion is laid on top of it, thus sandwiching the elastic leakage protective members between the first and second waist portions. The several components may then be attached to each other by bonding the waist portions at the crotch region and severing the completed article from the continuous strips of material.
An article of this type may also be manufactured by following the above steps, and also interconnecting the side edges of the waist portions by attaching the edges of each waist portion to the elastic assembly or members, in addition to attaching the waist portions to one another at the crotch.
Another process for producing an absorbent article of this type may be to assemble an article body formed from a single continuous top sheet and a single continuous back sheet, between which are sandwiched absorbent members placed at predetermined intervals. The elastic leakage protective members, which may be either continuous strips of material or pre-formed assemblies, are deposited on the article body. The individual article is made by folding the continuous sheets over on itself, thereby sandwiching the elastic member, and bonding the article at predetermined points to affix the elastic member between the waist portions, and severing the article from the continuous sheets. Such a construction does not require attaching the two waist portions to one another at the crotch because they are formed from the same continuous sheets of material.
These and other objects and advantages of the disposable absorbent garment and method of manufacturing will become apparent when the description is read in conjunction with the drawing figures.